Every year, Halloween is celebrated on October 31. There are a variety of traditions associated with celebration of Halloween, but one of the most recognizable is trick-or-treating. On Halloween night, children dress up in costume and walk around their neighborhoods, knocking on doors and asking for candy. Many adults dress up as well, and some people even celebrate Halloween by dressing up their pets. In 2016, the most popular costumes for children were action hero and superhero costumes, while the most popular adult costume was a witch.1 An estimated 10 percent of Americans dressed up their pet as a pumpkin. Candy is the dominant food tradition associated with Halloween, but many of the most popular Halloween candies are available year-round. According to a 2017 survey, the top 5 most popular Halloween candies were Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Twix, Kit Kats, and M&Ms.2 Even though candy corn is one of the few candies that is uniquely associated with Halloween, it was ranked second among the least-liked Halloween candies in the same survey.2
There are also other traditions associated with the celebration of Halloween, including haunted houses and community carnivals. In the days leading up to Halloween, many people decorate their houses with common symbols of Halloween, including spider webs, witches, skeletons, and – most prominently – jack-o’-lanterns. To make a jack-o’-lantern, people buy a large pumpkin, cut a hole in the top to remove the seeds and inner flesh of the pumpkin, and then use various sharp tools to carve an image on the front of the pumpkin. Then, they place a small candle or light inside the pumpkin to light up the image. Although it is traditional to carve a face on the front of a jack-o’-lantern, artistic pumpkin-carvers now carve elaborate images on the front of their pumpkins. People can also purchase templates to help them create jack-o’-lanterns that will truly impress their neighbors and any trick-or-treaters who visit their house.
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These traditions have provided ample opportunity for retailers in the United States to capitalize on Halloween. In 2017, an estimated $9.1 billion was spent on Halloween festivities, which was an increase from $8.4 billion in 2016.1 This came out to an estimated $86.13 per household.1 Of the total spending, costumes accounted for the greatest proportion, at about $3.4 billion, while candy and decorations were the next two highest areas of spending, with each accounting for an estimated $2.7 billion.1 In total, about 7 out of 10 Americans said they planned to celebrate Halloween, and 95% of them said they would buy candy.1
Clearly, Halloween is a major commercial holiday in the United States, but it is important to recognize that the holiday is rooted in spiritual and religious traditions. Historians believe that the original precursor to Halloween was a Celtic festival known as Samhain, which can be traced back about two thousand years.3 Samhain was celebrated on November 1, and the pagans believed that on the night before, October 31, people returned from the dead as ghosts.3 They wore masks to disguise themselves from ghosts and set out food and wine on their doorsteps to prevent ghosts from coming inside in search of food.3 In later years, the Christian Church co-opted the Pagan traditions by naming November 1 as All Saints Day and the night of October 31 as All Hallows Eve.
Despite these roots, it is clear that Halloween has now developed into a largely secular holiday. Christians celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day on November 1 and November 2, but for the majority of Americans, the night of October 31, Halloween is merely an opportunity to dress up, eat candy, and have fun with spooky symbols and decorations.
- Halloween headquarters. National Retail Federation. 2017. https://nrf.com/resources/consumer-research-and-data/holiday-spending/halloween-headquarters. Accessed 23 February 2018.
- Turner ML. 10 most loved and hated Halloween candies. Forbes. 30 October 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marciaturner/2017/10/30/top-10-best-and-worst-halloween-candies/#dd976ef59705. Accessed 23 February 2018.
- Sena A. The origins of Halloween. University of New Mexico Newsroom. 29 October 2015. https://news.unm.edu/news/the-origins-of-halloween. Accessed 23 February 2018.
